OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 2

Here are some more of the differences between OUTLANDER and CROSS STITCH. All page references below come from either the CROSS STITCH mass-market paperback edition, or the OUTLANDER hardcover edition.

Please note, all quotes from OUTLANDER and CROSS STITCH listed below are copyright© 1991 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 23

Here is a bit that Diana has specifically mentioned as being altered without her knowledge in CROSS STITCH:

'You look like a fretful porpentine,' I said. 'Whatever that might be,' He gave me a dirty look and rose to his feet, replacing the dirk on the stool that held his clothes. 'You couldna wait till I woke to tell me that?' he inquired. 'You thought it would make more impression if ye woke me out of a sound sleep by shouting in my ear?' 'Horrocks', I explained. (CS p. 426)
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"You look like a fretful porpentine," I said. He gave me a dirty look and rose to his feet, replacing the dirk on the stool that held his clothes. "You couldna wait till I woke to tell me that?" he inquired. "You thought it would make more impression if ye woke me out of a sound sleep by shouting "Hedgehog!" in my ear?" "Not 'hedgehog' ", I explained. "Horrocks." (OUTLANDER p. 306)

Whatever that might be?? Jamie's a university-educated man, fluent in Latin, Greek, and any number of other languages; surely he'd be familiar with Shakespeare? (More familiar than the UK editor who added that line, evidently!) The way it's written in CS, Jamie reacts as though Claire had said, "You look like you've just stuck your finger in an electrical outlet", or some other 20th-century reference that would leave him understandably baffled. And the removal of the "hedgehog" bit just makes Claire's mention of Horrocks sound like a complete non sequitur.

CHAPTER 24

"I floated gently to the surface of reality, and found that the butterfly feet against my stomach were the flaming tendrils of Jamie's soft red thatch, and the butterfly trapped between my thighs was his tongue." (OUTLANDER, p. 336) "
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I floated gently to the surface of reality, and found that the butterfly feet on my shoulder were the flaming tendrils of Jamie's soft red thatch, and the butterfly wings on my skin were his fingers." (CS p. 467)

I suppose this is the scene Diana has talked about where they asked her to rewrite it "so that it looks like they're having normal sex"?

"Young Jocasta, only fifteen, had obligingly accepted the suit of John Cameron, and gone north." (OUTLANDER p. 346)

"Young Jocasta, only fifteen, had obligingly accepted the suit of John Munro, and gone north." (CS p. 479)

Munro?! Um, no. <g> I would imagine this is pretty confusing for readers who've only seen CROSS STITCH, in light of what we learn about Jocasta in future books.

"There was the great to-do about it all, and a lot of verra nasty letters exchanged between Leoch and Beauly, but they settled it in the end, and Ellen and Brian took up house at Lallybroch the week before the child was born." (OUTLANDER p. 349)

"There was the great to-do about it all, and a lot of verra nasty letters exchanged between Leoch and Lallybroch, but they settled it in the end, and Ellen and Brian took up house at Lallybroch the week before the child was born." (CS p. 483)

Granted, it's not until DRAGONFLY that we learn the significance of Beauly (where Lord Lovat lives), but still, it's very clear to me that Diana meant Beauly (whether it would mean anything to the readers or not, at that stage), because at least some of the letters in question would presumably have been exchanged between Brian's father, Lord Lovat, and Colum MacKenzie. Referring to Lallybroch in this context makes no sense.

As I told Diana on Compuserve, I don't mean to nitpick. But CROSS STITCH is starting to drive me just a bit nuts, with all the details that have been changed for no apparent reason.

CHAPTER 25

Claire's thoughts in the thieves' hole:

"And given Callum's fear that I might reveal Hamish's parentage, or what he thought I knew of it, what he had done to me -- his not lifting a finger to help me -- was understandable too. Understandable, but not forgivable." (CS p. 552)

The part in red in that first sentence is not in my OUTLANDER hardcover.

"there were no enormous stretches of concrete blanketing the countryside, nor any noisy, stinking autos...." (OUTLANDER p. 412) "there were no enormous stretches of road blanketing the countryside, nor any noisy, stinking cars...." (CS p. 570)

The little house near Craigh na Dun is referred to as a "cottage" in OUTLANDER, but a "cot-house" in CROSS STITCH. When I mentioned this on Compuserve, Diana said she'd never encountered the term "cot-house", either in British novels or in her research.

CHAPTER 26

From the scene where Jenny has just grabbed Jamie by the balls:

"I'll wring your wee neck, Janet!" (OUTLANDER p. 425) "I'll wring your wee neck, Jenny!" (CS p. 588)

Gotta say, I like "Janet" better in this context!

"Frasers dinna listen to anything when they've their danders up. I've been acquent' wi' those two all my life, and I know. When they've shouted themselves out, sometimes ye can make them see reason, but not 'til then." (CS p. 592)

The part in red above is not in my OUTLANDER hardcover.

CHAPTER 27

"I'm none too worried, man. There's no coach going before next April, and I reckon she'll be used to us by that time. Get on wi' ye; Jamie's waiting." (OUTLANDER p. 435)

The sentence in blue has been cut from CROSS STITCH. Too bad. I like that line.

Jamie's brother's name is spelled "Willy" in CS, not "Willie" as in OUTLANDER.

Staring absently out at the driving rain, he said, "There was another reason. The main one." (OUTLANDER p. 438)
Staring absently out at the rain, he abruptly said, "I told you once I'd tell you the other reason. Do ye want to know?" (CS p. 607)

I really don't understand this. Why tinker with a sentence like that, that was perfectly good and understandable in the original version?

CHAPTER 28

Ian's line about swimming has changed in CROSS STITCH:

"I just thrash about, and gang in circles like a doodle-bug." (OUTLANDER p. 442) "I just thrash about, and gang in circles like a spider wi' four legs." (CS p. 612)

The scene where Claire meets Grannie MacNab is quite different:

"Mallow root--ah, that's good for cough. But ye dinna want to use that one, lassie." She poked at a small brownish tuber. "Looks like lily root, but it isna that." "What is it?" I asked. "Adder's-tongue. Eat that one, lassie, and ye'll be rollin' round the room wi' your heels behind yer head." She plucked the tuber from the basket and threw it into the pond with a splash. She pulled the basket onto her lap.... [next bit is identical in both versions] "Ye ken betony from lamb's-quarters, at least." (OUTLANDER p. 447)
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"Coltsfoot root--ah, that's good for cough." She pulled the basket onto her lap.... [next bit is identical in both versions] "Ye ken caraway from cowbane, at least." (CS p. 618)

All the references to Jamie as "his lordship" (a perfectly proper and respectable way to speak of the laird, isn't it?) in this scene have been replaced by "Lallybroch":

"I see Lallybroch didna wed ye for your face alone." (CS p. 618) "I see his lordship didna wed ye for your face alone." (OUTLANDER p. 448)

And then Grannie MacNab says this to Claire:

"you'll be swellin' like a pumpkin by Easter" (OUTLANDER p. 449) "you'll be swellin' like a ewe wi' triplets by Easter" (CS p. 620)

I guess you could argue that pumpkins are too obviously North American in origin for someone like Grannie MacNab to be familiar with them?

If you find this interesting, please check out my other posts in this series:

OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 1
OUTLANDER vs. CROSS STITCH, part 3